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Harper Lee OKs e-book version of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

Melodi Smith, CNN
4:33 a.m. EDT April 29, 2014

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 05: Pulitzer Prize winner and "To Kill A Mockingbird" author Harper Lee smiles before receiving the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House November 5, 2007 in Washington, DC. The Medal of Freedom is given to those who have made remarkable contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, culture, or other private or public endeavors. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)(Photo: Chip Somodevilla Getty Images)

(CNN) -- Reclusive author Harper Lee has agreed to allow "To Kill a Mockingbird" to be released electronically, ending what had until now been a glaring holdout in the digital library of literary masterpieces.

Lee announced her decision Monday -- her 88th birthday -- in a statement released by her publisher HarperCollins.

"I'm still old-fashioned. I love dusty old books and libraries," Lee said. "This is Mockingbird for a new generation."

Nelle Harper Lee hasn't published a work in more than a half-century.

She's made headlines though in steadfastly fighting to keep the rights to her intellectual property protected.

In 2013, the Alabama native sued her hometown of Monroe County Heritage Museum for trademark infringement, saying it was illegally using her fame for its own gain.

"Historical facts belong to the world," the suit argued "but fiction and trademarks are protected by law."

Lee also once sued a former literary agent for being "duped" into signing over the rights to her novel.

Inspiring millions

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is told through the eyes of Scout, the daughter of a lawyer in Maycomb, Alabama.

It deals with a local attorney's relationship with his children and his community as he defends an African-American man accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s Jim Crow era.

Its themes of racial injustice and waning innocence, grounded in characters possessing courage and tolerance, have inspired millions of readers.

The 1960 novel -- the only one Lee wrote -- won a Pulitzer Prize and was made into an Academy Award-winning movie.

According to HaperCollins, the novel has sold more than 30 million copies in English worldwide. It's been translated into more than 40 languages, and still sells more than 1 million copies every year.

Social buzz

If social media buzz is any indication, there's considerable excitement about this classic novel coming into the 21st century.

"Thank you Harper Lee! To Kill a Mockingbird coming to a kindle near you in July! A present for us on her birthday!" wrote Amy Feld in a Facebook post.